Loom knockoff means



March 8, 1955 M. R. FLAMAND LOOM KNOCKOFF MEANS Filed Feb. 19, 1954 INVENTOR. Mmlnzlcz l2. FLAMHND ATTORNEY United States Patent 6 Claims. '(Cl. 139-336) asslgnor to a corporation This invention relates to knock-ofi' means for looms, .and especially to such means particularly applicable to control of looms which employ as a driving means a combined motor, clutch and brake unit.

It isa general objectof the invention to devisea knockoff system which shall be simple and effective and which shall make possible the complete control of t he loom through a single levermovable to at least three different positions.

A more specific object of the-invention is that of providing control 'for a loom in which the shipper handle may be used to stop the loom, but inw hichit neednot be moved to the full extent of its travel as the loom :is

stopped, thereby preventing possibility of the lever being pulled from the operator slhand, and actually decreasing the'loom stopping time.

Another object is that of providing asimple system by which a handle at each end of the loom maybe'used to stop or start the loom and also, to release the brake while the loom is stopped.

Further objects will be apparent from the following more detailed discussion.

In looms of'the type described it is the usual practice :to stop and start the loom by either of. the shipper handles, one of which is fixeda't each end of a starter shaft .running along the .front'of the loom. At one side there is .provideda control means 'by which the loom brake-may be disengaged while the loom is stopped. Releasing the brake can thus be done at one side of the loom only and then only by resort to-aseparatecontrol means.

In stopping these looms, since the'entire knock-off means is permanently interconnected at all times, the stopping function is slowed up to some 'extent'by the fact that a considerable mass has to be moved an appreciable distance. This is true when knocking the loom off by hand and, more important, when .it is stopped-due to action through the filling or warp stop motions'at which time it is desired to bring the-loom toirest as quickly aspossibleafter an initial signal is given.

The conventional mechanism. is further objectionable in another respect, that is, it is-possible for theshipper handle to be pulled from the operators .hand if, as 'he starts "the loom, the stop motion immediately indicates a stop. Along with this, the shipper handles and attendant parts are rather forcefully banged to a loom stopped posiiton whenever stopping occurs.

By employing the instant invention, these and other defects are overcome. In carrying the invention into practice, for example, in a loom where the drive is taken from an electric motor into which a clutch and brake are built as a unit, a starter shaft at the front of the ma chine is provided with a lever or handle at each end, that at the driven end of the .loom being connected through linkage to the clutch and brake unitsatthe motor or other drive means. Intermediate the shipper handle and the clutch and brake unit .is provided a cam slot of particularshape which mayrspecifically be formed as a pivoted arm which has a slot of considerable length and through which it is possible to eifect all necessaryselecting of the control positions by merely moving either shipper handle to the appropriate position. 'Stops are provided-so the swinging movement of the arm is limited and resilient means keeps it against one stop except when the loom is at rest and the brakeis released. Apin'ispassed'throug'h the slot and serves to connect the arm through a link to the starter shaft and shipper handle. That end ofthe link which. attaches at the'pin may or may not be slottedras: will be explained hereinafter.

A second link thenextends from the pin to other parts by which it affects the clutch and brake aforesaid. A tripping means, part of the automatic stop motion devices, also. acts upon thislink.

In practice the stopping and starting of the loom merely contemplates a movement of the pin along the slot in the arm the same being inclined at about a li-degree angle to movement :of those links which. attach thereto. Theslot .actsas a cam to force the second link to and fro as required. As will be described by wayof a modification, the slot may be incidental to a fixed part rather than a pivotedarm.

When the loom is stopped and the brake is-to be :released, an extra movement of the shipper handle results in swinging the arm againstits. resilientbiasingmeans and against the second stop thereby to release the brake but not to engagethe clutch.

The invention will be described in greater detail by reference to a specific embodiment thereof as illustrated in the-accompanying figures of 'drawing'wherein:

Fig. 1 is a view showing one side of a loom to which the :inventionhas been applied.

Fig. 2ris-adetail view of certainparts in the positionthey occupy 'when "the. loom is stopped and'the brake applied.

Fig. 2a shows a modification.

Fig. 3 is a similar view with brake released.

:Fig. 4 shows a detail of certainlink connections.

Fig. 5 is an elevationalyiewof the control mechanism which appliesat the driving .motor.

Fig.6 .is aplan view "of some of the mechanism of the m stopped and the .Fig. 5- shown to an-enlarged scale.

Now referring to :Fig. 51, the invention has been applied to aloom having .a loomside -10, filling carrier and inserting means v11, warpbeam support I2'and other parts including an automatically controlled stopping means :13 which functions to stop the loom Whenever a signal from certain fillingor warp thread sensing means is received. A motor 14 :is bolted-directly to loomside 10=or supported in any other convenient manner and preferably comprisesia 'motor the rotating I field F- of which acts as a fly wheel and which has built as a part of a complete power unit, .a clutch Cand brake B. These are actually capable of being selectively controlled according to three general settings: 1. Clutch. engaged, brake-01f; 2. Clutch disengaged, brake on; :and- 3. Clutch disengaged, brake 01f, positions. In these the loom is set to run, stop 'or to he turned by hand While stopped, in the order above noted.

Actual shifting of the clutch and brake means is governed by a lever 15 pivoted at 16 in a bracket 17 and which by :meansof a control rod '18 working through a hollow shaft posit-ions the parts in accordance with one of the three possibilities above indicated- A spring 19 under compression tends tomove the parts to a clutch out, brake on position.

To this lever 15 isconnected'a link or rod 20 which is pivoted at its other end to a bell crank lever 21. This lever is pivoted on post 22 Sin bracket 23 fixed to the motor frame or some other permanently positioned part. Arm 24-of the bell crank serves to limit motion as governed by stop :screw 25 adjustable in lug 26 which is apart of the bracket. A link 27, more or less horizontally disposed, connects to bell crank 21 at the common connecting point 28 andserves by the novel mechanism of the invention as will presently be explained to set the drive parts against the spring 19. As is evident in Fig. 6, the lever 21 and link 20 arem'oved so that when arm '24 is against its stop, the parts constitute an overcenter means and are held :in thatposition .(loom running) until link 27 is moved topull :the parts past center whereupon spring 19 \a'cts to disengage the clutch and apply the brake.

Again referring to Fig. 1, a shipper handle 29 is fixed at one end of a starter shaft30, it being understood that a similar leveris provided at the opposite end of that shaft so the loom may be controlled from either end. Here the drive and controls-are mainly located 'at the right end.

separate from or a part of the shipper handle 29. This arm is provided with a stop screw 32 ad ustableas to position, and which strikes against a rib 33 on loomside as in Fig. 3.

Beneath the arm 31 and more or less on a level with bell crank 21 and link 27 is an arm 34 pivoted at 35 to the loomside. This arm is slotted as at 36. It is confined to swing in a rather small are by stop screws 37 and 38 threaded into lugs 39 and 40, respectively. These lugs are preferably a part of a bracket bolted to the loomside. Each screw is locked in position by a lock nut and a spring 41 surrounding screw 38 and under compression between lug 40 and arm 34 biases the latter in a direction toward stop screw 37. As will be explained in detail, arm 34 normally remains in contact with stop screw 37 except at such times as the loom is stopped and the brake released. The arm 34 and its slot are in effect a cam which acts through pin 42 to move link 27 as said pin is forced upwardly in the slot by another link 43 connected at 44 to arm 31 and by a clevis 45 to pin 42. This clevis is preferably, although not necessarily, slotted as shown at 46. Link 27 connects to pin 42 by a similar clevis 47, Figs. 2 and 4, so that pin 42 passes through the arm and both clevises.

The slot 46 in clevis 45 serves a very useful function although, as indicated, the mechanism may be used to advantage without it. Handle 29, if the slot is used, will merely drop to the loom stopped position when the loom knocks off automatically so that the stopping is effected more quickly in that the spring 19 has much less inertia of parts to overcome. Actually a gain of approximately 25 of loom travel in stopping has been measured. This figure varies with conditions, but the gain is very substantial. The knock-off through stop motion 13 moves link 27 to the left and trips bell crank 21, but pin 42 merely moves downwardly in slot 36 and also in slot 46. As soon as pin 42 starts to move, link 43 and the starter shaft and shipper handles are no longer held in position and may start to fall. Slot 46 permits the knock-off to occur very rapidly while the parts above mentioned fall at a moderate rate, so that spring 19 does not have to move link 43, the shipper handles or starter shaft except possibly at the end of the stopping function.

To start the loom the handle 29 is pulled to the extreme left-hand position, Fig. 1. That motion takes up slack between slot 46 and pin 42 and then moves the pin upwardly in slot 36 at the same time forcing link 27 rearwardly of the loom to set bell crank 21, Fig. 6, thereby releasing the brake and engaging the clutch. When set, the handle 29 and link 43 move back to the full line position of Fig. 1. If the loom should be knocked ofi immediately through the stop motion, the handle will not be pulled out of the operators hand with considerable force as usually occurs since the slack in slot 46 must first be taken up and by that time, the remaining mechanism 4 will have moved almost to its full extent of travel.

The brake is frequently released while the loom is stopped to permit manual movement of parts and with the novel means herein described, that may be accomplished by pushing either of the handles to the extreme righthand position, Fig. 1. Since the parts will be in the position of Fig. 2, further movement of handle 29 as stated will push downwardly on pin 42 and swing arm 34 against tension of spring 41 until the arm stops against screw 38, Fig. 3. To do that the handle 29 moved to its fullest extent is stopped by contact of screw 32 with rib 33, and since the adjustment of parts is so made that the pivot 44 moves over center, arm 31 and link 43 form a toggle and hold the brake in its released position.

This brake off position in elfect results in moving bell crank 21 to an intermediate position in which the brake and clutch are both released. The loom may be restarted by either handle 29, thus all functions may be performed at either side of the loom.

While it is not a necessary part of the actual invention described here, the stop motion 13 works on link 27 as described in detail in copending application Serial No. 336,280. No further mention seems necessary here.

While the present disclosure has made reference to a motor-clutch-brake unit, it is to be understood that the clutch and brake may be distinct from the motor and yet the principles herein described applied.

The clevis 45 may have no slot in which event there will be no slack in its movement; this is not preferred, but if employed still makes it possible to exercise all control for the three standard conditions with either shipper handle. While handle has been used in the singular in places and plural at other parts of this disclosure, it is to be understood that one of such is fixed at either end of the starter shaft and one or the other may be employed for control purposes. Also, whenever one moves the other does likewise, but arm 31 is, of course, an adjunct of the device at one end only of the shaft. The terms shipper handle and shipper lever have been employed to designate the same control instrumentality.

Now referring to Fig. 2a, a modified form of the invention contemplates the use of a fixed member 48 attached to the loomside by screws or the like in which there is formed a cam slot 49 extending in a direction more or less as does the slot 36, and an extension 50 at substantially a right angle to the longer slot. A pin 51 passes through the cam slot and has attached thereto as in the previous form, e. g., Fig. 2, clevises 52 and 53, the former being slotted as at 54 for the same reason clevis 45 is slotted. The links 55 and 56 are counterparts of links 43 and 27, respectively.

In operation pin 51 is moved up or down in slot 49 performing the same function as described in Figs. 1 and 2. There is a slight dwell point 57 at the bottom of the slot and at the entrance to its extension in which the pin will stop except as the arm 31 is moved to the position of Fig. 3 in which event the pin will be dislodged from the dwell and forced down in slot extension 50 to release the brake while the loom is at rest.

While one embodiment and a modification have been disclosed, it is to be understood that the inventive concept may be carried out in a number of ways. This invention is, therefore, not to be limited to the precise details described, but is intended to embrace all variations and modifications thereof falling within the spirit of the invention and the scope of the claims.

I claim:

1. In a loom having a motor drive means, a clutch and a brake and means selectively movable for engaging said clutch and releasing said brake, for disengaging said clutch and applying said brake, and for disengaging the brake while the clutch is also disengaged which comprises a shipper lever and interconnected linkage from said lever to said clutch and brake within which is provided a pivoted arm, stops for said arm and resilient means normally retaining the arm against one of said stops, a slot in said arm, one said link connecting the shipper lever with said slot by a pin and a second link connected for imparting motion from said pin to the clutch and brake.

2. In a loom having a motor drive means, a clutch and a brake and means selectively movable for engaging said clutch and releasing said brake, for disengaging said clutch and applying said brake, and for disengaging the brake while the clutch is also disengaged which comprises a shipper lever and interconnected linkage from said lever to said clutch and brake within which is provided a pivoted arm, adjustable stops for limiting angular motion of said arm and a resilient means for urging the arm against one of its stops, 9. slot in said arm and a pin passing through said slot, a link connecting said shipper lever and pin and a second link from said pin to the clutch and brake.

3. In a loom having a motor drive means, a clutch and a brake and means selectively movable for engaging said clutch and releasing said brake, for disengaging said clutch and applying said brake, and for disengaging the brake while the clutch is also disengaged which comprises a shipper lever and interconnected linkage from said lever to said clutch and brake within which is provided a pivoted arm, adjustable stops for limiting angular motion of said arm and a resilient means for urging the arm against one of its stops, a slot in said arm and a pin passing through said slot, a link pivotally attached at one end to said shipper arm and having an elongated slot at 1ts other end embracing said pin, a second link connected to said pin for imparting shifting movements therefrom to said clutch and brake.

4. In a loom having a motor drive means, a clutch and a brake and means selectively movable for engaging said clutch and releasing said brake, for disengaging said clutch and applying said brake, and for disengaging the brake while the clutch is also disengaged which comprises a shipper lever and interconnected linkage from said lever to said clutch and brake within which is provided an arm pivoted at one end and having an elongated slot, stop means for limiting angular movement of said arm which comprises adjustably fixed, opposed stop screws, a spring at one screw bearing against said arm for urging it against the opposite sto a pin passing through the slot in said arm, a link connecting said shipper lever and pin in which there is provided a lost motion connection, and a link from said pin to said clutch and brake means for imparting shifting movements thereto.

5. In a loom having a motor drive unit in which is incorporated a clutch and brake, control means for said clutch and brake which includes an overcenter means, and means for selectively positioning said control means which comprises a shipper lever, a movable means having a cam slot and stop means for limiting the movement of said movable means and resilient means for urging it into en gagement with one of said stop means, a pin slidable in said cam slot, 21 lost motion connection from said shipper lever to said pin and a connecting link from said pin to said control means.

6. In a loom having a motor drive unit in which is incorporated a clutch and brake, control means for said clutch and brake which includes an overcenter means, and means for selectively positioning said control means which comprises a shipper lever, an arm pivoted to swing in a limited arc, stop means for said arm, a spring normally maintaining said arm against one of said stops, links connecting said arm and shipper lever and the arm and control means and a common member for connecting said links and for sliding engagement within said cam slot.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,489,611 Northrop Apr. 8, 1924 1,766,862 Wattie June 24, 1930 2,683,471 Davies July 13, 1954 

